


Is It Really Coping if It Isnt Working?

by Mitsukkii



Series: Baby on Board [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver!Hunk, Caregiver!Lance, Classification AU, Diapers, Littles Are Known, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Shiro is still missing, little!Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 12:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19463566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mitsukkii/pseuds/Mitsukkii
Summary: With Shiro missing Keith doesn't quite trust his team to take care of him- so he tries not to be little for as long as possible...It doesn't go well





	Is It Really Coping if It Isnt Working?

“Oh god he's a little.”

The shock of the phrase echoed through the dimly lit room, Two figures hovering over him as he curled in on himself, trying to disappear into the floor. He really hadn't intended on his teammates figuring out he was a little. Hell, the Garrison had never caught him, letting him pass as a neutral for the 3 years he had been enrolled.

Of course, Shiro had known after a couple of simulators ran too long and Keith dropped. Hard. It probably wasn’t even the first time Shiro had suspected. He was atrocious at keeping his thumb away from his mouth, and it was always a close call for bathroom breaks. He wasn't good at hiding it back then, young and unsure of how not to let his littleness effect ‘adult’ life.

It wasn’t that he hadn't tried! He had learned over the years that foster families didn’t want a little. After all, they were a lot of work and responsibility, not to mention the meager monthly stipend the government out wasn’t nearly enough to cover half of the costs of a neutral. Over time, he adjusted to hide his status after that. It was just too inconvenient to give into his nature.

So up until he met Shiro, he had never particularly had any interest in having a caregiver. He had assumed they were optional and unnecessary, despite being a tiny bit jealous at seeing other littles coddled, he was fine. That all came to a head half a year into being Shiro’s mentee. Once he was given a taste, it was hard not to crave more. Shiro had been so gentle and patient, anticipating his every need, and he didn’t feel like his insides were too big. Darkly, in some corner of his mind he wished he hadn’t given in to his headspace, even to Shiro. It was like some god awful switch has been flicked every time he was within vicinity of the man, and Keith became a big clingy mess.

It was hard to be independent after that. He missed their private cuddle sessions, or when after a long day Shiro would scoop him up into a big hug. He had tried his best to cope without his caregiver's presence, resorting to long training sessions to work of stress instead of regressing. He hadn’t even looked at his pacifier in awhile, despite the chewed pens that suffered in its place. But he was doing his damn best to be an adult, because for all he knew, Shiro was dead. The thought made his heart ache.

But here he was anyways, with wet pants, and a tear-stained face, sucking on his thumb without abandon. He squeezed his eyes shut, huddling against the corner of his room as his heart pounded. These were people he was supposed to lead not disappoint. His head was too fuzzy, lips too uncoordinated to come up with an excuse.

He really dropped the ball tonight, snapping and storming off in the middle of a bad drop was not in fact a discreet way of dismissing himself for the night. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Because of course Hunk and Lance actually had the audacity to check on him, worried about his outlandish behavior that continued to escalate the longer the search for Shiro continued, only to find out his embarrassing little secret. 

They knew.

The two talked talked in hushed whispers. Confusion and concern swirled in the tones above him. Rocking himself in leu of comfort, he buried his snotty face between his knees. He tried to ignore them as they hovered and worried, trying to coax him out of the tight little ball he had tucked himself into. But it was safe, and big things were scary, and he felt so, so little. An arm touched his shoulder and he jolted, trying to back away against the walls he was trapped in front of. He couldn’t suppress the whimper that came at the unexpected touch. They were going to make fun of him and leave him here anyways. He wished they would just leave. 

“Hey buddy, its ok. Its ok. Me and Hunk are just trying to get you comfortable, yeah? Maybe get you changed out of those icky pants and into something niice and dry.” Lance cooed, talking slow and gentle to calm the distressed little. Keith peeked from his spot beneath his knees, but ducked his head when he made eye contact with the former blue paladin. 

“Lance, I think I found his stuff!” Hunk called from the closet, hefting up a lavender diaper bag printed with pale yellow sheep. Unzipping the front he frowned.

“Great! Can we use it to get him settled? Maybe some toys or something to make him feel better?” Lance questioned, rubbing Keiths forecep with gentle caresses.

“Awww, nooooo!” Hunk exclaimed sadly.

“What’s wrong?”

“He's a baby.” He said, eyes full of sympathy as he held up a pacifier. 

Lance made a strangled sound, because Keith was a baby. And while it was way younger than he felt prepared to deal with, it was awful that Keith had been compromising his health by pushing back such a vulnerable headspace. Especially one so young. Lance's heart ached as he pulled the little in for a gentle hug, unraveling the tight ball Keith had become.

“Awww sweetheart, why didn’t you tell anyone?” Lance crooned as Hunk began unpacking the diaper bag. He tried coaxing him up, rubbing the baby's back, avoiding the puddle of pee on the floor. It was probably cold by now. Gross. “Lets get him to the bathroom. Who knows how long the little dude's been wet.” Hunk said, gesturing to the mess.

Lance agreed with a nod, and after much coaxing and whining, he was hefting Keith up on his hip. The little continued to sob into his chest as he maneuvered him towards the bathroom, tightly winding his arms around Lance's neck. The blue paladin tried not to wince as snot soaked through his shirt. Babies were kind of messy.

Gently setting him in the tub, he turned to look for a rag under Keith's bathroom sink, finding bubble bath and a little green, four limbed rubber duck?? It seemed to get Keith's attention when it squeaked at least, because he stopped squirming as Hunk gently removed his soiled clothing. 

“While you give him a rinse, I’m gonna see if I can find something clean. And comfy. Maybe a few comfort objects..” Lance rattled off a list to himself as he walked into the bedroom.

Turning on the handle that would result in warm water, Hunk ran a hand under the lukewarm stream before beginning to plug the tub. Grabbing a cup from the bathroom counter, he dumped a cup over the fussy little’s dark tangled locks. Anticipating resistance, Hunk squeaked the alien duck as he gently soothed. “You're being so good, honey. You're such a good little boy"

Keith sighed in content as Hunk's firm hands kneaded shampoo into his hair, lightly massaging his scalp. Things were still fuzzy, but this was good. He felt safer then he had in a long time as the two adults talked above him. They sounded concerned, but Keith wasn’t responsible for that right now. He weakly flicked water with his pointer finger as his eyes drooped. 

Finally, Hunk deemed the boy to be clean enough after a long scrub. Who knew when the last time the little guy had a shower was! The warm water, paired with the emotional toll of crying was assuring that Keith would be drifting off sooner rather than later. Not wanting the kid to become a human raisin, he pulled the plug as the dirty water swirled down. 

“Lance!” he called to his friend in the adjoining room. 

“Yeah?” came the muffled response.

“Have you found any pajamas to stick this kid in? He's really zonked.” Hunk replied, wrapping a towel around Keith and pulling him into his lap after towel drying the long , wet hair that stuck to the baby's forehead. Keith meanwhile, was soft and sleepy, compliantly leaning into Hunks warmth as he began to doze.

Standing, he carried Keith bridal style as he reentered the paladin's bedroom, where he found Lance had lain out some of the clothes he assumed the man found in Keith's diaper bag.

“Is that Shiro's shirt?” Hunk questioned, looking at the black, oversized T-shirt. Lance shrugged. “I think maybe? Theres some onesies in here too, but if it is Shiro's, I think it'll calm him down.” Hunk nodded in agreement as he went to lay Keith down onto the bed. 

“Oh wait, put him on top of this" Lance interjected, gesturing to an unfolded diaper. 

Hunk paused. “You really think he’s THAT little?” 

“Better safe than sorry” The current red paladin shrugged. “Plus it was in his bag, and I doubt it’s for decoration.” He declared, bringing up the front of the disposable to tape it shut. Keith’s eyes fluttered as soon as the tapes in his padding were secured, a pacifier offered as a reward.

He drooped as the Yellow and Red paladins scurried to finish cleaning up, watching them bustle around the room with tired eyes. A shirt was slid over his still damp hair, and he fisted it in his hands after getting a slight whiff of it. Smelled like Bubba. Nuzzling into the collar of the shirt, Keith slipped into dreamland. 

Hunk and Lance let out sighs of relief as Keith slumbered on his bunk, the liquid sound of a pacifier being nursed the only in the quiet room. 

“Dibs on not telling Pidge" Hunk said in a whisper, pulling the sheets over the sleeping baby. 

“I was gonna tell them anyways..” Lance huffed dejectedly, pouting. Hunk smiled as Lance walked out with a dramatic moan, the door automatically whooshing shut behind him. Hunk sat at the end of the bed, tenderly brushing Keith's unruly bangs out of his face. 

“We've gotcha, buddy.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you havent already, check out my little paladin artblog! I will be doing a companion piece to this in about a week!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mitsukkii


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